Sindhupalchok -The Tatopani transit point on the Nepal-China border was reopened in 2019 after being closed for nearly five years following the devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015. It was expected that the full-fledged operation of the transit point would boost exports and open up new trade channels, but the anticipated increase in exports has not yet been realized.
Despite the full-fledged operation of the Tatopani transit point, the export of goods from Nepal has been limited. The locals are facing problems due to the non-opening of the border.
Local leaders have questioned Speaker Devraj Ghimire, who attended a school program at Hindi in Bhotekoshi rural municipality of Sindhupalchok on Tuesday, about the closure of the border point.
Sindhupalchok district Nepali Congress vice-chairman and local leader Dorje Lama raised a question about the border to Speaker Ghimire who was staying on the stage.
Lama said, “There is a widespread rumor that the transit point has been opened, but there has been no export through the crossing here.”
Even though the date has been fixed time and again to resume the border, the border has not been resumed at full-fledged.
Other locals, including the lama, raised problems with the Speaker about the problems of the closure of the border point.
The district administration, police chief, Chinese embassy counselor Mr. Si Wang, third secretary Mr. Wang Junf, and others participated in the program.
Almost eight years after the earthquake, on May 1, exports were opened by sending three containers carrying materials from Bhotekoshi-2 to China through the North Tatopani border point. Locals and businessmen are disappointed because nothing can be exported from Nepal from that day.
In the program, Speaker Devraj Ghimire said that he came to know about the deterioration of the Tatopani border point only after reaching Bhotekosi Rural Municipality. Ghimire said, “I had read the news that the Tatopani crossing has been opened before, I only experienced the problem here after hearing from the locals. We will take the initiative to resume border point for the common point.”
In the program, Si Wang, the counselor of the Chinese Embassy, said that China is positive about resuming the border point. He said that China is working on the construction of immigration buildings, Zhangmu Port, parks, and state-of-the-art weighing machines using state-of-the-art technology.
